The Last of Us’ Riley actor also starred in one of the year’s most fun mystery movies

The Last of Us has had plentifulness of side-character-focused episodes truthful acold successful its first season, which intends tons of fun impermanent actors popping up for just an hr astatine a time. This week’s section focused connected Ellie’s past and her relationship pinch a woman named Riley, which meant that it was impermanent character Storm Reid’s clip to shine.

In Reid’s hands, Riley is headstrong, capable, and smart, if not a small impulsive and possibly excessively speedy to spot an statement she whitethorn not afloat understand. Even much impressively for this episode, Reid is capable to bring a benignant of quiet, under-the-surface vulnerability that helps america amended understand her narration pinch Ellie, and much intelligibly spot each nan ways that Riley is successful complete her head, moreover if she only has an inkling of that truth herself. But that benignant of layered and absorbing capacity isn’t a surprise, because Reid’s already had a beautiful breathtaking profession that includes A Wrinkle successful Time, The Invisible Man, Euphoria, and moreover Missing, one of 2023’s champion movies truthful far.

Missing is simply a belief successor to 2018’s Searching, but it isn’t a nonstop sequel; it’s much for illustration an anthology series. The movie follows June (Reid), who discovers that her mother has gone missing aft going connected picnic successful Colombia pinch her shady caller boyfriend. June instantly launches into action and does everything she tin to find her mom and uncover nan larger conspiracy that could person led to her disappearance.

What makes Missing so unsocial is that it takes spot almost wholly wrong nan confines of machine screens. Characters talk via FaceTime, conversations are caught connected webcams, and June’s superior method of snooping involves very precise Google searches and immoderate awesome societal media investigation.

Image: Sony Pictures

The format makes nan movie’s enigma consciousness unsocial and wholly upends nan pacing you mightiness expect from a accepted thriller, but it besides presents a difficult situation for Reid successful that almost each of her acting is successful voice-over aliases filtered done an other screen. In a testament to conscionable really compelling she tin beryllium arsenic an actor, she handles nan situation deftly whether it’s a telephone telephone pinch her mom’s questionably motivated lawyer aliases processing a slew of emotions via an errantly left-open photo-booth app.

Every spot of that aforesaid curiosity and competence is connected show during Reid’s clip arsenic Riley successful The Last of Us section 7, arsenic well. Reid makes it easy to push done nan maze of complications successful Riley’s character, for illustration how she explored nan mall to statesman with, why she would subordinate nan Fireflies, and why it was truthful important to her to stock this nighttime pinch Ellie and induce her to subordinate too, moreover if she couldn’t opportunity immoderate of that retired large aliases explicate it herself. Reid gives nan characteristic a benignant of preternatural assurance that some belies uncertainty and competence, making her consciousness for illustration a cleanable pairing for Ellie’s smarmier type of nan same.

To opportunity overmuch much astir nan movie, aliases conscionable really bully and nosy Reid is successful it, would beryllium to ruin nan immoderate of its champion twists, but it’s safe to opportunity if you enjoyed this week’s section of The Last of Us, Missing is a silly and nosy enigma that’s good worthy your time.

Missing is presently successful theaters and is apt to get connected Netflix sometime later this year.